On the resolution-dependence of anvil cloud fraction and precipitation efficiency in radiative-convective equilibrium

Jeevanjee, Nadir; Zhou, Linjiong

doi:10.1029/2021MS002759

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On the resolution-dependence of anvil cloud fraction and precipitation efficiency in radiative-convective equilibrium

2022
By Jeevanjee, Nadir ; Zhou, Linjiong
Source: Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 14(3), e2021MS002759

[PDF-842.04 KB]

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Journal Title:

Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
Personal Author:

Jeevanjee, Nadir ; Zhou, Linjiong

Jeevanjee, Nadir ; Zhou, Linjiong Less -
NOAA Program & Office:

CIMES (Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System) ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; GFDL (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory)

CIMES (Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System) ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; GFDL (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory) Less -
Description:

Tropical anvil clouds are an important player in Earth's climate and climate sensitivity, but simulations of anvil clouds are uncertain. Here we identify and investigate one source of uncertainty by demonstrating a marked increase of anvil cloud fraction with resolution in cloud-resolving simulations of radiative-convective equilibrium. This increase in cloud fraction can be traced back to the resolution dependence of horizontal mixing between clear and cloudy air. A mixing timescale is diagnosed for each simulation using the cloud fraction theory of Seeley, Jeevanjee, Langhans, and Romps (2019) (https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080747) and is found to scale linearly with grid spacing, as expected from a simple scaling law. Thus mixing becomes more efficient with increasing resolution, generating more evaporation in middle and lower tropospheric updrafts. This decreases their precipitation efficiency (PE), thereby increasing their overall mass flux, leading to greater detrainment at the anvil level and hence higher anvil cloud fraction. The decrease in PE also yields a marked increase in relative humidity with resolution.
Keywords:

[+]

Atmosphere Clouds Convection Precipitation
Source:

Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 14(3), e2021MS002759
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002759
Document Type:

Journal Article
Funding:

Grant no. NA18OAR4320123
Rights Information:

CC BY-NC
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Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

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urn:sha256:a0fd9492355d82cf6a2a6cbc0a2e7420346e82dccaeac7e37d9e171559f39c50
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/43140/noaa_43140_DS1.pdf
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On the resolution-dependence of anvil cloud fraction and precipitation efficiency in radiative-convective equilibrium

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